A Massachusetts man has stuck it to Big Sports Betting after putting together a parlay that wasn't actually a parlay but the site treated as such.
Let me explain.
A normal parlay bet looks like this:
As you can see, I took eight teams to cover the spread in this week's NFL action. Those are all independent bets with their own separate chance, so when I connect them in a parlay (they all have to hit), the payout skyrockets.
Well, a few months ago, ahead of the MLB's ALCS playoff series, a bettor found a glitch in DraftKings' online sportsbook. He initially wanted to bet that Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes would have eight or more hits in the series. But when he futzed around with the parlay option, he found that he could parlay this bet and bets that Lukes would have more than seven hits, more than six hits, and more than five hits. This shouldn't qualify as a parlay as there is no additional risk or chance in taking these bets on top of the original. Still, a glitch in DraftKings system allowed the "parlay," which, with around a $13,000 bet, would pay out $934,000.
Technically, he had to make a bunch of separate bets to avoid hitting the site's betting limit. From a popular sports betting news site, Sports Betting Dime:
The patron placed 27 parlays on Lukes' ALCS hit total, adding an unrelated, but heavily favored moneyline leg to make each parlay slightly different. For example, in one parlay on Lukes' hit total for the ALCS, the patron also included a moneyline leg on the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs to defeat the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Most of these unrelated heavily favored bets won as part of the parlays, though three of those 27 missed due to Clemson, Florida State, and Miami losing in college football.
But you're probably more interested in this little gem: Nathan Lukes recorded his ninth hit of the ALCS in the bottom of the seventh inning of game seven -- so the other 24 "parlays" hit.
DraftKings had thoughts, and they tried to void the bet:
But, not so fast.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission DENIED the void!
They tried to give him the payout as if had he made the bet honestly:
The operator proposed paying out the customer on the 'exact same basis as every other patron who placed their wager honestly on the odds of eight-plus hits, just voiding the lesser included selections.'
This would have paid the patron $84,242.53, with an additional $11,500 returned in voided staked funds, for a total of $95,742.53.
But in Massachusetts, if DraftKings makes a deal with you, you get your money.
By the way, this man knew exactly what he was doing.
[I]t was clear to DraftKings that the patron knew what they were doing, as their actions indicated an 'extreme deviation from standard behaviors.' The patron made seven deposits on Oct. 15, 2025, for nearly $13,000, which exceeded his lifetime deposit total of just $7,000 on the platform.
The customer also violated DraftKings' house rules, Harrington said, which prohibit repeat betting and betting on markets with obvious errors.
DraftKings also believes a relative of the patron made similar bets in New Jersey. Harrington reported there were equivalent bets made on the same date and time in New Jersey, taking advantage of the same DraftKings error.
That's what family is for!
So if you or anyone you know finds a glitch in DraftKings' system, make sure to place those bets in Massachusetts or New Jersey, who are not big on letting the casinos void your winnings.
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